What to Know
- The 134th Rose Parade presented by Honda
- Monday, Jan. 2, 2023
- The flower-covered icons of the Pasadena parade take months to build; businesses, cities, and organizations sponsor the on-the-roll wonders
A strong spirit of surreal sweetness is present in the first batch of 2023 Rose Parade float renderings to be revealed — there is, after all, one float boasts a mouse that's drawn to look a bit like Albert Einstein — and that spirit seriously suits the upcoming event.
For here's a not-too-surprising twist you may have seen coming, if you keep your eye on the calendar and you know all the decades-old traditions that surround the Pasadena spectacular: It's not happening on New Year's Day.
At least in 2023, for Jan. 1 will fall on a Sunday, and the Rose Parade? It never, ever happens on a Sunday.
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Ever. Well not since 1893, that is.
So best circle Jan. 2, a Monday in 2023, as quickly as you can, then brew some rose tea before you settle in to admire these five festive floats, which hail from both businesses and cities (the parade famously features floats sponsored by corporations as well as local towns and civic groups).
The float renderings were released by the parade's team on Oct. 20; fans can expect more renderings will be revealed in the weeks to come.
The theme of the 2023 extravaganza, which begins on Orange Grove Boulevard in Pasadena, in front of the Tournament of Roses house, then takes a right turn onto Colorado Boulevard? "Turning the Corner," an inspirational and easy-to-remember notion, since the parade itself does turn that corner each year.
But hold up: Did we say "decades-old traditions" earlier? Surely we meant "centuries-old," for this long-running event is celebrating its 134th outing in 2023 which means, yes, it first clip-clopped, horsey-style, through the Crown City in 1890.
